1:1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi,
had made an end of teaching my brethren, our father,
Lehi, also spake many things unto them, and rehearsed
unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in
bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.

1:2 And he spake unto them concerning their
rebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in
sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in
the sea.

1:3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land
of promise, which they had obtained--how merciful the
Lord had been in warning us that we should flee out of
the land of Jerusalem.

1:4 For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in
which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we
remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished.

1:5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions,
we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is
choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God
hath covenanted with me should be a land for the
inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted
this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also
all those who should be led out of other countries by the
hand of the Lord.

1:6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the
workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall
none come into this land save they shall be brought by
the hand of the Lord.

Modern archaeology has
established that human settlements in the Americas date
back to at least 10,000 years, and possibly as much as
40,000 years. Are we to assume that these people also
were brought by the hand of God?

1:7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him
whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall
serve him according to the commandments which he hath
given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them;
wherefore, they shall never be brought down into
captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if
iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their
sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed
forever.

1:8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should
be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for
behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there
would be no place for an inheritance.

Faced with overwhelming
proof that the Native Americans are not
descended from the Jews, LDS apologists have generally
resorted to the explanation that the Book of Mormon does
not teach that the Nephites were alone in the land. This
verse, and several like it, seems to argue against such a
conclusion.

1:9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise,
that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out
of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments,
they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they
shall be kept from all other nations, that they may
possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that
they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed
upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to
molest them, nor to take away the land of their
inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever.

1:10 But behold, when the time cometh that they
shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so
great blessings from the hand of the Lord--having a
knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men,
knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from
the creation of the world; having power given them to do
all things by faith; having all the commandments from the
beginning, and having been brought by his infinite
goodness into this precious land of promise--behold, I
say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy
One of Israel, the true Messiah, their
Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that
is just shall rest upon them.

1:11 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and
he will give unto them power, and he will take away from
them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause
them to be scattered and smitten.

1:12 Yea, as one generation passeth to another there
shall be bloodsheds, and great visitations among them;
wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea,
I would that ye would hearken unto my words.

1:13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep,
yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off
the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the
chains which bind the children of men, that they are
carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery
and woe.

1:14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the
words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay
down in the cold and silent grave, from 1whence no traveler can return; a few more days
and I go the way of all the earth.

1:15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from
hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled
about eternally in the arms of his love.

1:16 And I desire that ye should remember to observe
the statutes and the judgments of the Lord; behold, this
hath been the anxiety of my soul from the beginning.

1:17 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow
from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the
hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out
in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off
and destroyed forever;

1:18 Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the
space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword,
and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to
the will and captivity of the devil.

1:19 O my sons, that these things might not come
upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a favored
people of the Lord. But behold, his will be done; for his
ways are righteousness forever.

1:20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall
keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but
inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be
cut off from my presence.

1:21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and
that my heart might leave this world with gladness
because of you, that I might not be 1brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave,
arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be
determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all
things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

1:22 That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing;
and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just
God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal 1destruction of both soul and body.

[1] Matthew 10:28:
...but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell.

1:23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of
righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are
bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from
the dust.

1:24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views
have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments
from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been
an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth
into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we
must have perished with hunger in the wilderness;
nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and
he hath suffered much sorrow because of you.

1:25 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of
you, lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have
accused him that he sought power and authority over you;
but I know that he hath not sought for power nor
authority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God,
and your own eternal welfare.

1:26 And ye have murmured because he hath been plain
unto you. Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that
he hath been angry with you; but behold, his sharpness
was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which
was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth,
according to that which is in God, which he could not
restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.

1:27 And it must needs be that the power of God must
be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must
obey. But behold, it was not he, but it was the Spirit of
the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth to
utterance that he could not shut it.

1:28 And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam,
and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if
ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not
perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave unto you
a blessing, yea, even my first blessing.

1:29 But if ye will not hearken unto him I take away
my first blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall
rest upon him.

1:30 And now, Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou
art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been
brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that
thou art a true friend unto my son, Nephi, forever.

1:31 Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy
seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in
prosperity long upon the face of this land; and nothing,
save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or
disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land
forever.

1:32 Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of
the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the
security of thy seed with the seed of my son.